>> Unfortunately, this is the case with IDT and other eviscerated hardware companies,

The root cause is that Chinese competitors have helped us to understand that routers and swicthes and these expensive systems are not that expensive. They make these systems and sell them very cheaply. Until US firms can adapt in price, it will be hard to change the dynamics of the industry.

If you go to IDT's yahoo message board, you will find people who follow the company's development pretty closely agree almost unanimously that Starboard Vulture fund(the noisy 8% shareholder' aims to sell off IDT and its lucrative new businesses for a huge gain. Some posters insist Tewksbury refused to break up the company and was thus forced out. The bad guys won.

Wall Streets though loves divestiture. Everyone now is looking for the company to be sold and some speculate that the price target is $16. Shouldn't shock anyone that the stock is heading up even as DC 's craziness is scaring the markets.

This is rich, IDT's board engineered Dr. T's resignation? McCreary is part of the IDT board; the interim CEO voted out Dr. T so he can have a chance to become pernamnent CEO? And what qualifies this guy to be CEO? Has anyone noticed yet that he has not been part of TXN for the better part of a decade yet his CV makes it seem as if he was there yesterday. He's been self-employed and employed by Starboard since leaving TXN. Wonder why he was not able to get a CEO job after TXN? Ask TXN alum.

Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be a next level for IDT, consensus is, now it will be sold. McCreary is installed by Starboard Value which wants a lucrative quick exit by selling the company and its parts. That's probably the real reason that the CEO who made such great progress in turning around the company left.

Sometimes it's the workings of vulture activists who must dislodge the productive CEO who grew the company and install their hatchet guy who is willing to gut the company so they can harvest it for a quick loot.

Unfortunately, this is the case with IDT and other eviscerated hardware companies,Zicor and Actel come to mind. This really doesn't bode well for US semi industry.

At first it made no sense. IDTI stats were consistently improving; things were looking up; 2014 was going to be great for IDTI; the stock doubled in 10months; it raced past 5-year high and continued to climb.

No Board in its right mind would push out a CEO when things are going this well.

It made no sense unless you factor in that the "noisy investor" has always been Starboard Value which bought 8% of IDT stock and got 2 board seats (one for McCreary) in 2012.

Starboard usually pushes out the CEO on day one, the fact that Tewksbury lasted more than a year meant he has the stuff to stand up to them against their efforts to dismantle IDTI.

Ultimately it's hard to fight a malignant power broker like Starboard and win. There are rumors that the Board was threatened by Starboard before the proxy period that it was them or Tewksbury and the directors chose themselves.

Who knows what's really true. One thing is definite.

Tewksbury is known in the industry as a builder of successful businesses. Starboard and all its lackeys are known for dismantling businesses.

@goafrit ST certainly is the leader now in MEMS overall revenue but Bosch Sensortec is closing that gap. But ST lacks MEMS products in timing devices. In one of the designs I had a chance to look at, IDT seems to have addressed some tough issues with controlling temperature-influenced effects in MEMS timing devices.

For matured industries like our own, age could be an issue since most of the senior managers are old white men. But in new industries like web, app, mobile, age does not offer much advantage. When you read about a CEO in our industry, there is no need to guess - it must be a white old man.

In conjunction with unveiling of EE Times’ Silicon 60 list, journalist & Silicon 60 researcher Peter Clarke hosts a conversation on startups in the electronics industry. One of Silicon Valley's great contributions to the world has been the demonstration of how the application of entrepreneurship and venture capital to electronics and semiconductor hardware can create wealth with developments in semiconductors, displays, design automation, MEMS and across the breadth of hardware developments. But in recent years concerns have been raised that traditional venture capital has turned its back on hardware-related startups in favor of software and Internet applications and services. Panelists from incubators join Peter Clarke in debate.